Newcastle United are pressing ahead with their attempts to sign Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer this summer.

That’s according to a report from the Daily Mail, who suggest that the 23-year-old is interested in a move to St James’ Park and is determined to leave Parkhead this summer.

The Magpies are thought to be preparing an £8m offer for the Norwegian, however, Celtic value the versatile defender at a whopping £25m, a 68% gap in valuations.

Ajer, who has made 173 appearances for the Hoops, is valued at just £3.6m by Transfermarkt because he will only have 12 months remaining on his Celtic contract in the summer.

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Transfer Tavern take

Celtic’s valuation of £25m, in our opinion, is a big ask, and should any side meet their demands, Ajer would become the club’s most expensive departure of all time – eclipsing Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal in 2019.

However, with Ajer wanting a move away and thus unlikely to sign a new deal, this summer appears to be the final chance the club will have to receive a sizeable fee for his services.

Should his situation remain the same going into 2022, he could speak with sides outside of Scotland in regards to a pre-contract agreement, leaving the Hoops with nothing.

In our view, it may make sense to accept a cut-price figure and then reinvest ahead of the 2021/22 season.

The Hoops only paid £540,000 for the defender in 2017, so they’ll be making a huge profit should they accept the reported £8m bid.

In other news: Alan Nixon provides Eddie Howe to Celtic latest; Hoops 'prepared' for issue with coaching staff, find out more here